STRIKE-HOLD - the international military and tactical blog

The Day The SAS Became Famous: Storming The Iranian Embassy

On the 40th anniversary of the storming of the Iranian Embassy, Forces Network takes a look at the event that made the SAS a household name... Read the story here. [caption id="attachment_7418" align="aligncenter" width="2088"] SAS troops smashing through the windows of the Iranian embassy in London during their iconic raid...

Netherlands Liberation Day 75th Anniversary

On this day 75 years ago, 5 May 1945, The Netherlands was finally freed from Nazi occupation after almost exactly 5 years of occupation. The Netherlands was invaded on 10 May 1940, and fell to the German forces 5 days later - making it and Norway two of the countries...

Silverback Airsoft MDR AEG Update

The  Desert Tech MDR (Micro Dynamic Rifle) project caused quite a stir when it was unveiled at the SHOT Show several years ago. It was certainly a very ambitious project for a small private company to undertake, but also the kind of radical leap-ahead design that only a small private...

Friday Foto

A US Air Force HH-60G Pave Hawk assigned to the 66th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron conducts a training exercise near Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar in late March 2020. The Pave Hawk, normally assigned to the 66th RQS at Nellis AFB, NV delivers the ability to conduct day or night personnel recovery...

Wings Wednesdays: They Mostly Come At Night

Special Tactics Airmen from the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron filled in to conduct interoperability training with the 14th Weapons Squadron assigned to the U.S. Air Force Weapons School detachment at Hurlburt Field, Florida for a Special Operations Force Exercise on April 22, 2020. [caption id="attachment_7384" align="aligncenter" width="1578"] Three CV-22 Osprey...

UF PRO’s Guide to Tactical Tracking: Part I Tracks Tell A Story

Dive into how the ancient technique of tracking can be applied to contemporary tactical operation. Follow former Dutch Royal Marine Boris Vos and his team of tactical trackers as they hunt down suspects on the run. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=22&v=7XsrHVdTy7Q&feature=emb_title

Russian paratroopers perform Arctic freefall from 10,000m altitude

The Russian Ministry of Defence has released information that a unit of Russian paratroopers have successfully performed a military freefall insertion into the Arctic region from an altitude of 10,000m (32,808 feet). https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=gM2D081FW7E&feature=emb_logo Russian paratroopers equipped with oxygen masks, specially insulated suits, and a new type of special parachute system...

Operation Eagle Claw 40th Anniversary

Today marks the 4oth Anniversary of the disastrous attempt to rescue the American hostages who had been held captive in Iran ever since the storming and occupation of the US Embassy in Tehran several months earlier. [caption id="attachment_7363" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Image / S&S Precision[/caption]   Those of us that are...

On This Day In History: The handshake that sealed the division of Europe

Today is the 75th anniversary of the iconic US-Soviet link-up on the Elbe River in 1945. The Elbe River had been agreed upon at the Yalta Conference held February 4–11, 1945 as the dividing line between the westward advance of Soviet forces, and the eastward advance of US and British...

ANZAC Day 2020

[caption id="attachment_7355" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] Image: Rod Emmerson, 2020. Source: thecoast.net.nz[/caption]   The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (abbreviated as ANZAC) was a First World War army corps of the British Army's Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated most famously during the bloody...